Josh (31 page)

The three of them attacked the slopes with a renewed vengeance.

As the Cessna circled, Big Jim swiveled his head when something caught his eye. “Wait a minute.”

Cole looked over at his father. “What is it? What’d you see?”

“I don’t know. Head back to the other side of that peak again.”

Cole made an adjustment and the plane circled back.

Big Jim strained to see anything out of the ordinary.

At last he pointed. “There. Letters.” A moment later he swore. “Landing area. Hell, that can’t be a message from Quinn and Jake. We couldn’t land on that little spot unless we were—”

“—flying a helicopter.” Cole pointed to the small aircraft just coming into view from the other side of the mountain peaks.

He lifted the speaker, tuned to the state police frequency. “Everett. Is that you approaching Wind River Plateau?”

After several seconds of static Everett Fletcher’s voice broke through. “I can barely hear you, Cole. I’m with the state boys. We’re airborne, but nowhere near the plateau. We’re just on our way to join you in the hunt for Delray.”

“Then I guess that copter we’re watching means trouble for us. He’s not on our frequency. I’m afraid you’re a little late to the dance, Chief. There’s a private helicopter preparing to land on the Wolf River Plateau. That could very well be where Josh and Sierra Moore are camped.”

The chief muttered an oath. “Does that bastard Delray think he can violate our laws and then skip out
without paying the price?” He could be heard speaking to the pilot before adding, “Hang on. We should be there within the hour.”

Cole turned to his father. “I’m betting that Delray will be aboard that aircraft and halfway to hell before Everett and the state boys can even get close.”

“Then I guess it’s up to us to change Delray’s plans.”

Cole stared down at the rugged landscape below. “This is no whirlybird, Big Jim. It would take a miracle to put this down on that postage-stamp piece of land.”

“I don’t see that we have a choice.”

Cole stared around, hoping desperately to find a more hospitable area nearby to serve as a landing strip.

Seeing none he muttered, “Okay. We’ll prepare for a crash landing. And pray for a miracle.”

Josh stumbled down another slope, half-running, half-sliding as he lost his footing on the snow-slick trail. Whatever pain he’d suffered from the close-range gunshot was forgotten in his haste to reach the plateau. Nothing mattered now except reaching Sierra in time.

He tripped over a log buried under a mound of snow and fell forward, sliding headlong until he came to a sudden stop at the base of a tree.

The impact ripped the rifle from his grasp and it slid past him another hundred feet or more before it came to stop against a pile of snow-covered rocks.

Josh lifted his face from the snow and swore in frustration. This deadly situation had made him careless and clumsy at a time when he couldn’t afford a single misstep.

He crawled forward until his fingers closed around the barrel of his rifle.

Just as he sat up, he caught the rustle of movement in a stand of trees and whirled, taking aim.

The spidery branches of a fir parted, revealing a sight that rendered him speechless.

Sierra was weaving like a drunk, using the flimsy branches to remain upright. And though her eyes were open, she didn’t appear able to really see him.

“Sierra?”

At the sound of his voice she cried out and dropped to her knees.

“Oh, God, Sierra.” He stumbled forward and wrapped his arms around her.

“Josh?” She lifted a hand to his face and struggled to focus. What she saw was a blur of dark, piercing eyes staring into hers.

Josh’s wonderful, beautiful eyes.

She clutched his hand. “How can this be? I saw Sebastian kill you.”

Almost reverently she traced the outline of his face, and then his mouth. There was no denying that mouth. Hadn’t she kissed it a hundred times or more? “Oh, Josh. Tell me I’m not dreaming. It really is you. You’re not dead.”

“I’m alive, Sierra. Don’t waste your time worrying about me. I’m more worried about you.” He could see that her pupils were dilated and her speech slurred. “How did you escape Sebastian?”

“He drugged me. I’m still—” she struggled to put her thoughts into words “—weak and groggy. But when he went to signal the helicopter, I knew it was my only chance to escape.”

“He’ll come after you. You were bound to leave a
trail in the snow.” Josh caught her hand. “We have to get away.”

“You have to go without me. I’ll just hold you back. I can barely stand.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll carry you.”

She touched a hand to his face, wishing she could bring him into clearer focus. “Listen to me, Josh. He’ll kill you if he finds you with me.”

“He’s already tried that once.”

“But you can’t take the chance—”

“We don’t have time to argue.” He slung the rifle over his shoulder before lifting her in his arms. “Hold on, baby.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder as he made a desperate dash into the nearby woods.

Quinn figured he knew the Wolf River Plateau better than most hikers. This had been one of his favorite spots to sit and watch his pack when he’d first started tracking wolves.

“There’s a shortcut up ahead. I’ve used it a hundred times or more.” He led the way through a dense evergreen forest.

Jake and Cheyenne followed his lead with absolute trust.

Though they couldn’t see the sky through the canopy of foliage, they were aware of the sound of whirling blades growing louder as they climbed. When they broke free on the far side of the forest, they could see the helicopter start to drop toward the landing area, before it suddenly veered off, changed course, and lifted into the air.

“I wonder what…?” Quinn halted in midsentence when he looked up to see the family’s Cessna coming in low and fast from the opposite direction. “Sweet heaven. They’ll never make it. It’s impossible.”

He swore and grabbed Cheyenne’s hand so hard she winced before clapping a hand over her mouth to keep from crying out in absolute horror.

Beside them, Jake stared transfixed at the sight of the aircraft barreling down on the plateau. “Not enough runway. They’ll slam off the edge and crash on the rocks below.”

It was like watching a train wreck. Though they all feared the outcome, they couldn’t look away.

The small plane touched down, bounced once, twice, and began skidding sideways across the icy surface. Just as it slid toward the very edge of the plateau and looked as though it would continue on into the abyss beyond, it jerked to a shuddering halt, as though anchored by an invisible tether.

Moments later, as Quinn, Cheyenne, and Jake raced toward the aircraft, the doors opened, and Cole and Big Jim stepped out.

For a moment there was complete silence, as they tried to process the fact that they’d just accomplished the impossible.

“That was—” Cheyenne swallowed back the knot of fear that had nearly choked her “—simply incredible.”

“Yeah.” Cole shot a look of astonishment at his father, and the two men grinned foolishly. “It wasn’t half bad, if I say so myself.”

“Not bad?” It was Jake who brought them all down to earth as he slapped his father on the back and said, “You’d
better thank Grandma Clementine for that miracle. You two couldn’t have pulled that off by yourselves.”

“Yeah.” Quinn exchanged a knowing grin with his younger brother. “That’s what I call flying by the seat of your pants. Admit it, Pa,” he teased. “Did you close your eyes like a girl when you touched down?”

“I raised a couple of smart alecks. Trust me. I knew what I was doing every minute of that landing. I was in complete control.”

“And pigs fly,” Quinn said with a laugh.

Cole shrugged off their remarks. “There’ll be time to enjoy your little jokes later. Right now, let’s find Josh and Sierra before that helicopter finds another spot to land.”

Josh carried Sierra into thick brush. He looked around carefully before depositing her on the ground.

“This is the safest spot I can think of to keep you hidden.” He knelt beside her. “I’m going to leave you here and head back to find Delray.”

“No.” She caught his hand and held on to it with both of hers. “Don’t go looking for him, Josh. You know he’ll do everything in his power to see that you’re dead. And this time, he won’t trust a single bullet.”

“I’m well aware of that. But I have to stop him, Sierra.”

“Then I’m going with you.” She scooped up a handful of snow and began wiping it over her face in a desperate effort to shock her senses and become more alert.

Josh lay a hand over hers to still her frantic movements. “Listen to me, Sierra. The sedative will wear off gradually. In the meantime, as long as you stay hidden in here, you’re safe.”

“I don’t want to be safe if you’re in danger.”

“But don’t you see? One of us has to survive, to testify to what Sebastian did here. Once he sees that I’m still alive, he’ll realize that he has to eliminate me in order to get away with everything else. And once he follows me, you’ll be free to make your escape.”

Sierra felt tears spring to her eyes, and she struggled in vain to blink them back. “I can’t bear it if you leave me.”

Seeing her tears, Josh wiped them with his thumbs before brushing his mouth over hers.

If only, he thought, they had more time. But he had to move quickly if he hoped to save her from the fate this monster had in store for her.

“I don’t want to leave you, either. But if we stay together, it will give Delray the perfect opportunity to carry out his plan. By separating, we’ll force him to choose which one to follow. I’m willing to bet that he’ll want to assure himself that I’m dead before he comes looking for you. Especially since he knows you’re still under the influence of the sedative. He believes you’re the easier mark.”

She began to weep softly, knowing that he was right but wanting with all her heart to keep him with her.

“There’s one more thing.” Josh kissed her again, as gently as a snowflake. “If you hear gunshots, you have to run in the opposite direction as quickly as you can. No hesitating. No turning back.”

“Josh…”

He took up his rifle and got to his feet.

They both heard the sound of evergreen branches rustling as though caught in a stiff breeze. Before either of them could react, a tall figure stepped into the clearing.

“Well, now. Conway. I wasn’t expecting to see you.” Sebastian’s brow shot up at the sight of Josh.

The sound of that accented voice scraped over nerves already stretched to the breaking point.

“I would have sworn that I’d put that bullet straight through your heart.”

Josh stood facing him, his eyes as dark and dangerous as the ones staring him down. “Looks like you missed.”

Sebastian lifted his pistol and took aim. “Trust me. I’m an excellent shot. And I have no intention of missing a second time.

B
ig Jim stared around at the snow-covered terrain. “Has anybody spotted any sign of life out there?”

“We just got here,” Quinn explained. “I think we ought to fan out and start searching. But first we need to arrange a signal in case we locate them.”

“Right.” Cole paused when his cell phone rang.

Reaching into his pocket he withdrew it and said, “Everett. Where are you guys?”

He listened, then relayed the chief’s words to the others. “The state troopers have picked up a cell phone signal that had previously been blocked by the storm. They’re currently tracking it, but until they narrow down the exact location, they can give us the general vicinity.”

He listened again, then nodded before signing off. “Thanks, Everett. Get back to us with the information as soon as you can. In the meantime, we’ll start climbing
toward the last place you identified. You’ll see my Cessna on the Wolf River Plateau.”

The others heard the chief’s exclamation, and saw Cole break into a smile. “Yeah, that’s what I said. It was a tight fit, but I landed that son of a—” He glanced at Cheyenne and finished lamely, “—landed on the plateau. I’d say somebody upstairs was looking out for us.”

He tucked his phone in his breast pocket and turned to the others. “The state boys will hone in on that signal, but for now we’re climbing to that tree line up there. We’re not certain who’s up there, but it’s our best hope.” He hefted his rifle to his shoulder. “One shot means one of them has been found. Two shots means both Josh and Sierra have been found.”

“And what if we hear three shots?” Quinn asked.

“Then we start running towards it full speed ahead, ’cause it can only mean trouble.”

Without a word they fell into step and began the upward hike.

Josh faced Sebastian’s gun without flinching.

Sebastian’s face was contorted with wild-eyed fury. It was obvious that things weren’t going the way he’d planned, and now that his carefully arranged abduction was falling apart, he was becoming enraged and desperate.

That, Josh thought, could be a blessing or a curse. Sebastian could simply kill them quickly. Or, with any luck, he could become careless.